Oleksandriya Park in Bila Tserkva

Oleksandriya dendrological park is located in Bila Tserkva (White Church) on the banks of the Ros river and covers an area of ​​297 hectares. The park was built by Ñountess Oleksandra Branytska. She found a picturesque place 3 km from Bila Tserkva (now the park is in the town). The works began in 1793; a French architect Muffo was invited to design the master plan. Along with the park arrangement began construction of the "Austeria" residence, which was destroyed in the XX century.

In 1815 Oleksandra Branitska brought to Bila Tserkva a young gardener August Entz from Berlin. Within the next 54 years he was working in the park, creating more and more new landscapes. Some compositions have survived to our times.

In the middle of the XIX century the park has become very popular. It was visited by famous people of that time: Derzhavin, Pushkin, Taras Shevchenko etc. The park was often visited by the royal family members who planted eight trees. The trees were surrounded by a fence and some still remain.

After 1861, when serfdom was abolished, only the existing facilities were kept in the park. In Soviet times the park was not maintained well, it was handed over to an agricultural college. The park was also affected by war - 3 hectares of trees were cut down and ruins of the buildings were overgrown with weeds.

In 1946, the park was handed over to the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and its reconstruction started.

There is an interesting place in the park, Paliyeva Gora (Paliy Hill). It was named in honor of Colonel Semen Paliy, national hero of the XVII century, head of the national liberation struggle against Poland at the end of XVII - early XVIII centuries. His fortress used to stand on this hill.

Getting there: By minibus to Bila Tserkva from the central railway station or Lybidska metro station. By train to Myronivka, leave it in Bila Tserkva. From the Bila Tserkva railway station take a bus #13 to "Pionerska" stop. If you have arrived by minibus at Ploscha Svobody (Liberty Square), then take a bus #1 or #22 and leave it either on the "Klinika" or "Pionerska" stop.